I won the Oatleaf Poetry Magazine’s June Competition! This month’s theme was “out-of-body.” The poem that came to me was a sweet little poem to my wife called, You Ground Me.
Give it a read: https://www.oatleafpoetry.com/2025/06/you-ground-me-by-r-william-parmenter.html
This poem came to me while we were driving across the country. Since we were moving back to our childhood state and homes, I had a lot of that on my mind. For many people like myself, a place you grow up in can grow stagnant and we strive for change, whatever that may be — new places, new people, different views.
A little free form bit to capture what I saw, felt, and smelled the other day. Rain in the desert has a distinct smell, with mostly that of the earthy, peppery scent of the creosote bush. Something I will miss when we leave the desert.
I wrote this poem today after walking my dogs. It occurred to me how long it has been since we had rain here in the desert valley of Arizona — which has been about 170 days. Usually we would have had some by now and the wildflowers would start blanketing the ground in a burst of yellow, orange, and purple.
A poem about the first snow and the excitement it brings.
Four months ago, today I published my debut poetry book, Between The Dark and The Light. It has been an amazing journey so far, but I still can’t believe I actually did it. It is still so surreal when I see it. Like when I saw it sitting on the arm of my sister’s sofa.
Today, I’m sharing two shorter pieces because I forgot to celebrate the release last month! These two poems embody the essence of the book, and the undulating flow between dark and light themes it represents.
My goal with this poem was to capture my feelings as I’ve returned to the same home and neighborhood I grew up in. Though some rough memories show up, it is different to be here as an older person. I feel grown like the trees I used to climb and can look around with a sort of humbling reverence to time.